I’m an avid cook, with an interest in languages, so the subject of Japanese soups got me thinking. The kanji 汁 can be read as ‘shiru’ or ‘jiru’, depending on the context, and is usually translated as ‘soup’. But ‘jiru’ can also mean ‘juice’ ? everything from lemon juice to the juice from a can of tuna is ‘jiru’. Isn’t language fun! Maybe we adopted the word ‘soup’ as a kind of linguistic convenience. Certainly, Japanese soups are not prepared the same way as Western soups, nor are they served and consumed in the same way. However, let’s not get pedantic about semantics… ‘soup’ is as good a word as any, so here are seven delicious Japanese soups you should try.[Continue Reading…]